The United States will not go forward with planned food aid to North Korea, the White House said on Friday, after the impoverished nation's unsuccessful launch of a long-range missile which Washington had warned would have consequences.

"Their efforts to launch a missile clearly demonstrates that they could not be trusted to keep their commitments," White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama to Florida.

"Therefore, we are not going forward with an agreement to provide them with any assistance," he said, warning that North Korea faced additional sanctions if it defied the international community again by taking further "provocative" steps.

North Korea said the missile launch had failed earlier on Friday.

Washington had offered in February to consider providing North Korea with nutritional aid in return for its suspension of uranium enrichment activities and other movement toward the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

But it had repeatedly cautioned that the test of the long-range missile would jeopardize food aid, and said it would begin working on "additional steps" with other world powers to dissuade Pyongyang from further acts of provocation.

"Today we will begin consultations at the United Nations Security Council about how to deliver a message to the North Koreans that the international community rejects this launch and is prepared to take additional steps, particularly if North Korea continues to go down the road of taking provocative actions," Rhodes said.

INTIMADATOR2007

04-15-2012, 09:31 PM

I would rather just send them a couple of Bunker Busters , we need the food !

theonedru

04-16-2012, 04:13 AM

Its so silly the American stance on other countries having nuclear weapons when America has been the only country to actually use nukes in war and on civilians no less so we have no right to dictate to other countries on the matter.

duane1969

04-16-2012, 08:21 AM

If they can afford to have a missile development program then why are we sending them food?

Its so silly the American stance on other countries having nuclear weapons when America has been the only country to actually use nukes in war and on civilians no less so we have no right to dictate to other countries on the matter.

We have never used nukes in war.

habsheaven

04-16-2012, 08:31 AM

If they can afford to have a missile development program then why are we sending them food?

We have never used nukes in war.

By what rationale do the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki not qualify?

duane1969

04-16-2012, 09:23 AM

By what rationale do the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki not qualify?

Atomic and thermonuclear are different. The atomic bombs that we dropped on Japan were fission bombs. Modern day nuclear weapons are fusion bombs.

The difference between an atomic bombs and a nuclear bomb is comparable to the difference between being shot with a .22 pistol and a grenade launcher. Fusion bombs are about 1000 times more powerful than fission bombs of comparable size. Had we dropped nuclear bombs that were the same size as the atomic bombs then Japan would not exist anymore.

habsheaven

04-16-2012, 09:33 AM

Atomic and thermonuclear are different. The atomic bombs that we dropped on Japan were fission bombs. Modern day nuclear weapons are fusion bombs.

The difference between an atomic bombs and a nuclear bomb is comparable to the difference between being shot with a .22 pistol and a grenade launcher. Fusion bombs are about 1000 times more powerful than fission bombs of comparable size. Had we dropped nuclear bombs that were the same size as the atomic bombs then Japan would not exist anymore.

I guess that is interesting to know. I, ignorantly, group them all together.

duane1969

04-16-2012, 09:48 AM

I guess that is interesting to know. I, ignorantly, group them all together.

Most people do. Look at it this way. The bomb that we dropped on Hiroshima weighed 8000 pounds and created an explosive yeild of 12.5 kilotons of energy. The Minuteman missile carries the W62 nuclear warhead which weighs 253 pounds and produces an explosive yeild of 170 kilotons of energy.

So a nuclear warhead that weighs 1/32nd as much as the atomic bomb produces an explosion that is 13x more powerful.

This concludes today's Physics lesson. Test on Friday :)

pghin08

04-16-2012, 10:18 AM

Most people do. Look at it this way. The bomb that we dropped on Hiroshima weighed 8000 pounds and created an explosive yeild of 12.5 kilotons of energy. The Minuteman missile carries the W62 nuclear warhead which weighs 253 pounds and produces an explosive yeild of 170 kilotons of energy.

So a nuclear warhead that weighs 1/32nd as much as the atomic bomb produces an explosion that is 13x more powerful.

This concludes today's Physics lesson. Test on Friday :)

That's interesting stuff. I didn't realize all that.

duane1969

04-16-2012, 09:19 PM

I have my awesome, slightly nutty college Physics professor Dr. Dynak to thank for my comprehension of the difference.